A 21-year-old Columbia University student has turned interview cheating into a lucrative business. Chungin "Roy" Lee's company, Interview Coder, helps software engineers use AI to ace technical interviews at companies like Google and Amazon — all while remaining undetectable to interviewers.
Google reports that over 25% of its new code is now written by AI. And its hiring managers are struggling to verify candidates' actual coding abilities in remote interviews. The problem has become so severe that Google CEO Sundar Pichai suggested returning to in-person interviews. Amazon now requires candidates to acknowledge they won't use unauthorized tools during interviews. Anthropic explicitly asks applicants not to use AI assistants. Deloitte has already returned to in-person interviews for its UK graduate program.
"Everyone programs nowadays with the help of AI," Lee told CNBC. "It doesn't make sense to have an interview format that assumes you don't have the use of AI." His service, which charges $60 monthly, is on track to reach $1 million in annual recurring revenue by mid-May.
Lee's cheating tool can instantly generate code solutions and explanations while remaining invisible to screen recording software.
Henry Kirk, a software developer who tested candidates, found that "more than 50% of them cheated" during virtual coding challenges. Even subtle signs like candidates saying "Hmm" while waiting for AI responses have become red flags for recruiters.
Lee remains unapologetic about disrupting the status quo. "Any company that is slow to respond to market changes will get hurt and that's the fault of the company," he told CNBC. "If there are better tools, then it's their fault for not resorting to the better alternative to exist. I don't feel guilty at all."
Previously:
• How to Cheat at Everything: an encyclopedia of cons
• HOWTO cheat your friends at poker
• Baseball, cheating, and physics
